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Legal help for young people

Lawyers

No matter how old you are, you have the right to go and see a lawyer if you think you have a legal problem or you need legal advice. A lawyer will listen to you and give advice about the best way to handle things. It is up to you whether you take that advice or not.

You can get free legal advice from a lawyer at Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), Youthlaw or a community legal centre. Any lawyer can ask VLA for money to help pay for your case.

If you have to go to the Children’s Court, a lawyer may be able to go with you and speak on your behalf. Always try to see a lawyer before going to court. A lawyer’s job is to help you present your case in the best possible way. The lawyer is not in charge of how you run your case – you are.

The information you give the lawyer is confidential. They can’t tell anyone else (like the police or your parents) about your situation unless you say it is okay for them to.

Lawyers who act as an independent children’s lawyer in the family law courts have a different role. See ‘Family breakdown’ (link below) for information about independent children’s lawyers.

Legal information and advice

Victoria Legal Aid

Call Legal Help for free information over the phone about the law and how we can help you with your legal problem. You can speak to a legal information officer in English or ask for an interpreter. Phone (03) 9269 0120 or 1800 677 402 (country callers), Monday to Friday from 8.45 am to 5.15 pm.

We also have a Youth Legal Service that provides legal information and assistance to children, young people and parents.

Our free legal services include:

  • advice at our offices and other locations across Victoria
  • lawyers who are on ‘duty’ to help at many courts and tribunals, including the Children’s Court
  • advice at many correctional facilities, remand and detention centres, including the Melbourne Juvenile Justice Centre, Parkville Youth Residential Centre and secure welfare facilities.

For some matters we can provide you with a lawyer to help you run your case.

To find out more about any of our legal services see What we do.

Other legal services

Youthlaw is a community legal centre for young people up to the age of 25. Youthlaw can help with:

  • confidential legal advice, information and casework services
  • information about your legal rights and responsibilities.

See Youthlaw or call them on (03) 9611 2412 or email info@youthlaw.asn.au.

Your local community legal centre (CLC) can give you legal information and advice. Most CLC services are free. See Community Law for more information and CLC contact details.

The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) provides legal advice for Indigenous people 24 hours a day. The police must advise VALS every time an Indigenous person is arrested. VALS will then contact the arrested person to see if they need legal help, and may also attend the police station. See Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.

Helpful websites

The Lawstuff website includes information for young people about a wide range of legal topics. You can also email your legal question and a lawyer will respond to you. See Lawstuff.

The youthcentral website has information about many topics and issues affecting young people, including your legal rights. See youthcentral.

More information

Children’s Court

Complaints about lawyers (general information)

Family breakdown

Lawyers (general information)

Young people and the police

Related publications

You can get free booklets about the law and your rights from VLA. Our booklets for young people include:

See Publications for a full list of publications.

You can also visit the Public law library to find out more about the law.